Entertaining Posts: 11/16/11

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Lawsuit dropped, but Bieber baby claim lingers

LOS ANGELES | Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:43pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The woman who claimed teen singer Justin Bieber fathered a baby with her has dropped her paternity lawsuit, but Mariah Yeater's lawyer said on Wednesday she is pursuing her claim out of court.

Yeater, 20, of southern California, had claimed in her lawsuit that she had sex backstage with the 17-year-old Canadian singer last year and that he was the father of her baby who was born in July. She was demanding child support.

Bieber has repeatedly denied the allegation, saying he never met Yeater but said last week he would take a paternity test. Sources close to Bieber said on Wednesday that arrangements were underway for the DNA test to take place soon.

Chicago attorney Jeffery Leving said on Wednesday that Yeater had dropped the lawsuit but had a new legal team and hoped to reach a private settlement with Bieber's lawyers.

"She believes Justin Bieber is the father," Leving told Chicago TV channel WGNtv on Wednesday. "Negotiations are going on right now with Bieber's counsel and we're trying to negotiate a private, secure DNA test with the same safeguards that would exist if there were a court order, but without a court order."

"This matter is not over," Leving said.

It was not clear why the paternity lawsuit was dropped but Leving said Yeater had received death threats and was being harassed by the media.

Bieber's spokesman Matthew Hiltzik called it "sad" that "someone would fabricate such a malicious, defamatory, and demonstrably false claim. We'll continue to consider all of our options to protect Justin."

The baby claims have threatened to tarnish Bieber's squeaky clean image and left Yeater open to a possible charge of statutory rape because Bieber was only 16 years-old at the time of the alleged encounter.

In her complaint, Yeater claimed the two had sex for 30 seconds in a backstage bathroom after she attended a Bieber concert in Los Angeles in October 2010.

Bieber, has been promoting his new Christmas album in Europe, was silent on Twitter on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Judge dismisses case against Selena Gomez stalker

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Justin Bieber baby claim lawsuit dropped: source

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Bradley Cooper is People's "sexiest man alive"

Wed Nov 16, 2011 12:47pm EST

(Reuters) - Bradley Cooper is the latest Hollywood heartthrob to be named People's sexiest man alive, the magazine announced on Wednesday.

In choosing Cooper, who has enjoyed box office success most notably in "The Hangover" films, the magazine said there was more to the actor than his dazzling baby blues and a killer smile.

The 36-year-old is also a Georgetown University graduate, can cook, rides a motorcycle and is fluent in French.

Cooper's humility only added to his appeal, People said.

"I think it's really cool that a guy who doesn't look like a model can have this," he told the magazine. "I think I'm a decent-looking guy. Sometimes I can look great, and other times I look horrifying."

Although he is single, Cooper said he doesn't see himself as a ladies man.

His initial reaction when he learned about the latest accolade was, "My mother is going to be so happy."

Runnersup on People's annual list this year were Ryan Gosling, Idris Elba, Tim McGraw and Alec Baldwin.

Previous winners included actor Ryan Reynolds, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Mel Gibson, who was named the first sexiest man alive by the magazine more than a quarter-century ago.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney)

A Minute With: Jason Segel on Muppets and puppets

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:52am EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Jason Segel is best known for starring on the hit TV show "How I Met Your Mother," and for comedies like "Bad Teacher" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Now Segel, 31, stars in a big screen adaptation of "The Muppets," a family musical that debuts in theaters on November 23 in time for the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday.

The actor also co-wrote and is executive producer on the film, which follows a couple, Gary and Mary (Segel and Amy Adams, respectively), on a visit to Los Angeles with Gary's brother who happens to be a Muppet fan. When they discover an oilman plans to raze the Muppet Theater to drill a well, they convince the Muppets to reunite to save the theater.

Segel spoke to Reuters about the film, his love of puppets and his desire to channel his inner creep.

Q: Your filmography of raunchy comedies doesn't exactly scream family friendly films. What gives?

A: "'The Muppets' movie is right in my wheelhouse. It was nice to do something that was really pure and sweet and innocent. It's sort of a trade off. You can't do the raunchy jokes, but you get to do these totally Muppety jokes that you don't do in regular films. It was a fair trade off for me."

Q: What is about Muppets that appeals to you?

A: "I think what separates the Muppets (from other comedies) is that they never get laughs at other people's expense. Their jokes are kind and honest and pure. Even as an adult when you turn on the Muppets, you're reminded of the best version of yourself, that sense of wide-eyed wonder that the world beats out of you."

Q: Did you have a favorite Muppet?

A: "Kermit. I remember watching Kermit and thinking, that's who I want to be when I grow up. He's Tom Hanks, or Jimmy Stewart. He's the moral compass of the Muppets and he's the every man, the glue that holds it all together."

Q: And are you?

A: "I strive for it when I do my movies. I try to come across as the every man, but no one does it like Kermit."

Q: But Kermit didn't flash his genitalia like you did in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall!"

A: "Have you ever seen Kermit wearing pants? Kermit did full frontal way before I did!"

Q: Speaking of "Sarah Marshall," your character in the film put on a puppet show and you yourself have been into puppetry for years. Where does that come from?

A: "I came of age during the Apple digital revolution, when they introduced Final Cut Pro and when digital cameras became accessible. All of a sudden you could make short films without needing an editing suite or renting equipment. I would write and make these short films but I had no one to participate with me. So I went to the toy store and I bought a bunch of puppets and did my short films with them."

Q: That hobby must be either very cool or very creepy when it comes to getting the ladies.

A: "Well I'm still single! There's some satisfaction that I've done 'The Muppets' because now this is my job, so there's some context to it. But there was a period where I was just the weird dude with puppets in his house."

Q: You first worked with the Henson company when they created the puppets for "Sarah Marshall." At what point did you feel brazen enough to pitch them a Muppet movie?

A: "I was born without a sense of shame! (Laughs) What really hit me was that the last Muppet movie was 12 years ago. Kids ages zero to 12 have grown up without a Muppet movie in their lives and that seemed wrong to me. They were such an influence on who I am and who I became that I just put my head down and said, 'I'm gonna make a new Muppet movie.' I would not take no for an answer."

Q: You're on a hit sitcom, you do R-rated comedies and now family films. What else do you want to play?

A: "I really want to play a villain. I keep walking the line between charming, accessible and creepy and I always fall on the charming and accessible side. For once, I'd like to fall on the creepy side."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Patricia Reaney)